Some 400 high school students and 50 teachers from San Bernardino County will benefit from a two-year Growing Inland Achievement grant through a partnership with the University of California, Riverside’s Graduate School of Education.
The purpose of the grant will be to offer supplemental teaching and support for Advanced Placement (AP) students countywide, joining Riverside County students and teachers who have participated in the program during the past two academic years.
“Data shows that we need more college-ready students from San Bernardino County to meet the workforce demands of our global economy,” County Superintendent Ted Alejandre said. “This program looks to help students pass more AP tests and support teachers' efforts to have students prepared for their tests, while also reducing the number of students in our region who have to take remedial courses to catch up once they attend college. This can be a game-changer for our region economically and for our students being prepared to graduate from college.”
For the past two years, UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education has offered its AP Readiness Program to school districts in Riverside County with high school graduates. The Growing Inland Achievement grant for $150,000 over the next two years will expand the AP Readiness Program to districts in San Bernardino County with high school graduates. Eight sessions of AP Readiness classes are held for students from September to May (on one Saturday per month) in the following nine subject areas: biology, calculus AB, chemistry, environmental science, physics, statistics, computer science principles, English language and English literature.
Participating teachers will be able to receive up to 40 hours of learning, mentoring and networking over an eight-month period. They also will be able to review new AP books and equipment, while seeing how technology can enhance teaching. An online system is being created so that teachers from both participating counties can share best practices, advice and experiences.
Goals for the two years of the grant for San Bernardino County students include raising qualifying scores on AP tests 10 to 20 percent during the first year of the program and increasing the rate of qualifying scores on AP tests 15 to 25 percent during the second year of the grant.
According to data on AP passage rates, San Bernardino County students have a 46 percent passage rate (with scores of three or better), while Riverside students have passage rates of 43 percent. That compares with passage rates of 66 percent in Orange County, 63 percent in San Diego County and 49 percent in L.A. County.
Among San Bernardino County students, about 1-in-3 (34 percent) students in grades 10-12 have taken an AP exam. The comparable rate is 29 percent for Riverside County students.
“This new partnership with UCR’s Graduate School of Education is a win-win for both San Bernardino and Riverside county students and teachers,” Alejandre said. “We look forward to sharing results of better performance by students on AP tests and more support for teachers to help their students achieve.”